The mission will be Rocket Lab’s seventh Electron launch and continues the company’s monthly launch cadence

Huntington Beach, California. 10 May, 2019 – Rocket Lab, the global leader in dedicated small satellite launch, announced today that its next flight will launch multiple spacecraft on a mission procured by satellite rideshare and mission management provider, Spaceflight. The launch window will open in June, with launch taking place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula.

The mission is Rocket Lab’s seventh Electron launch overall and the company’s third for 2019, continuing Rocket Lab’s average monthly launch cadence. The flight follows dedicated missions launched for DARPA and the U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program in the first months of 2019.

The mission is named ‘Make it Rain’ in a nod to the high volume of rainfall in Seattle, where Spaceflight is headquartered, as well in New Zealand where Launch Complex 1 is located. Among the satellites on the mission for Spaceflight are BlackSky’s Global-4, two U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Prometheus and Melbourne Space Program’s ACRUX-1.

Rocket Lab Founder and CEO Peter Beck says rideshares have historically presented a challenge for small satellite operators, as they’re often at the mercy of the primary payload’s schedule and orbit.

“This exciting mission with Spaceflight demonstrates the new level of freedom now offered to small satellite operators thanks to Electron,” he says. “Rocket Lab puts small satellite operators in charge, offering an unmatched level of control over launch schedule. Thanks to Electron’s Kick Stage, we also deliver the kind of precision orbital deployment normally reserved for a prime.”

The spacecraft manifested on the mission will be delivered to precise, individual orbits by Electron’s Kick Stage. Powered by the 3D printed Curie engine, the Kick Stage carries the payloads to a circular orbit before employing a cold gas reaction control system to orient itself for precise deployment of each satellite at pre-defined intervals. This removes the risk of spacecraft recontact during deployment and ensures each spacecraft is deployed to the ideal orbit.

As the world’s leading small satellite launch provider, Rocket Lab has been delivering small satellites to orbit since January 2018. The company has launched 28 satellites on Electron for a range of government and commercial mission partners including NASA, the DOD Space Test Program and DARPA. Rocket Lab’s 2019 manifest is fully booked with monthly launches, scaling to a launch every two weeks by the end of the year. The first launch from the company’s second launch site, Launch Complex 2, at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, will also take place later this year.

Quelle: Rocket Lab

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Update: 18.06.2019

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Rocket Lab’s next launch will loft cluster of satellites on Spaceflight rideshare

The BlackSky Global 3 Earth-imaging satellite is the largest of seven spacecraft slated to launch on Rocket Lab’s sixth mission. Credit: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab’s next launch from New Zealand is set for no earlier than June 27 with a bundle of spacecraft including a commercial Earth-observing microsatellite for BlackSky, two CubeSats for U.S. Special Operations Command, a pair of tiny prototype data relay nodes for Swarm Technologies, a student-built payload from Australia, and a satellite whose identity and owner remain a secret.

The rideshare mission was arranged by Spaceflight, a Seattle-based company that specializes in aggregating small satellites and booking a shared flight with a launch provider.

The seventh launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron booster is scheduled for a two-hour window June 27 opening at 0430 GMT (12:30 a.m. EDT; 4:30 p.m. New Zealand time), the launch company announced Monday. Rocket Lab says it has launch opportunities available through July 10.

Seven satellites will ride the 55-foot-tall (17-meter) Electron rocket into orbit roughly 280 miles (450 kilometers) above Earth. It will be Rocket Lab’s third mission of 2019 as officials aim to ramp up to a cadence of about one launch per month by the end of the year.

The rocket will take off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1, a privately-operated facility on Mahia Peninsula, located on the eastern coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

“We’re looking forward to not only our inaugural flight with Rocket Lab, but a long term partnership to increase access to space via frequent launches,” said Curt Blake, CEO of Spaceflight. “Having the Electron in our arsenal of small launch vehicles provides our customers with a low-cost, flexible option to get on orbit.”

The mission is nicknamed “Make it Rain” in a nod to the damp climate of Seattle, the home of Spaceflight, and at Rocket Lab’s launch site in New Zealand.

The biggest payload on the next Electron launch is the BlackSky Global 3 Earth-imaging satellite — with a launch weight of approximately 123 pounds (56 kilograms) — set to join BlackSky’s first two commercial surveillance craft already in orbit after launches last year.

BlackSky is a business unit of Spaceflight Industries, which is also the parent company of Spaceflight, the rideshare launch broker.

Like the two BlackSky Global satellites currently in space, BlackSky’s third satellite will be capable of capturing up to 1,000 color images per day, with a resolution of about 3 feet (1 meter).

Last year, Spaceflight Industries announced a joint venture with Thales Alenia Space — named LeoStella — to build the next 20 BlackSky satellites in Tukwila, Washington, following the initial block of four smallsats that includes the BlackSky Global 3 spacecraft launching later this month.

BlackSky says its fleet of satellites will enable frequent revisits over the same location to help analysts identify changes over short time cycles. The company expects to have eight satellites in orbit by the end of the year, and aims to eventually field a constellation of up to 60 Earth-imaging spacecraft deployed.

One major customer for BlackSky could be the U.S. government. The National Reconnaissance Office, which owns the government’s spy satellite fleet, announced three study contracts earlier this month with BlackSky, Maxar Technologies and Planet to assess the usefulness of commercial imagery for U.S. intelligence agencies.

The payload fairing for Rocket Lab’s seventh mission, nicknamed “Make it Rain” in a nod to the high volume of rainfall in Seattle, where Spaceflight is headquartered, as well in New Zealand where Launch Complex 1 is located. Credit: Rocket Lab

The June 27 launch will also deliver two Prometheus CubeSats to low Earth orbit for U.S. Special Operations Command. The Prometheus smallsats launching later this month are the latest in a series of CubeSats designed to test low-cost, easy-to-use communications relay technologies that could be used by special operations forces on combat missions.

According to information previously released by the military, the Prometheus spacecraft demonstrate the transmission of audio, video and data files from portable, low-profile, remotely-located field units to deployable ground station terminals using over-the-horizon satellite communications.

Two SpaceBEE CubeSats from Swarm Technologies, each weighing less than 2 pounds (1 kilogram), will also be aboard the next Electron launch. The “BEE” in SpaceBEE stands for Basic Electronic Element.

Swarm is developing a low-data-rate satellite communications fleet the company says could be used by connected cars, remote environmental sensors, industrial farming operations, transportation, smart meters, and for text messaging in rural areas outside the range of terrestrial networks.

Swarm’s first four SpaceBEEs launched in January 2018 aboard an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle without approval from the Federal Communications Commission. After an investigation into the unlicensed launch — a first for the U.S. commercial satellite industry — the FCC fined Swarm $900,000 but allowed the launch of three more satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket in December.

The FCC raised concerns that the first four SpaceBEEs, each about the size of a sandwich, were too small to be reliably tracked by the military, which maintains a public catalog of objects in orbit. Like the satellites launching this month, the SpaceBEEs shot into orbit in December used a larger design based on a one-unit, or 1U, CubeSat standard.

The Electron rocket, with its nine Rutherford first stage engines visible here, is being prepared for launch from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, located on the eastern coast of New Zealand’s North Island. Credit: Rocket Lab

The ACRUX 1 CubeSat developed by the Melbourne Space Program, a non-profit educational organization affiliated with the University of Melbourne in Australia, is also launching on the Electron rocket. Built by engineering students, ACRUX 1’s primary mission is education.

Australia’s first amateur satellite, Australis-OSCAR 5, was also built by students in Melbourne. Launched in 1970, it was the first amateur satellite designed and assembled outside North America.

“Since then, Australia’s satellite-related space capabilities have been stymied by outdated policies and regulation, hindering growth of the nation’s space industry and support of its incredible local talent,” members of the Melbourne Space Program wrote in an update on the organization’s website.

“In light of these challenges and obstacles, the Melbourne Space Program considers the design and build of ACRUX 1, as well as the successful securing of an international launch and related licenses, as significant accomplishments in themselves,” team members wrote on the group’s website.

The student engineers who developed the ACRUX 1 CubeSat say they will consider the mission fully successful if they receive a “ping” signal from the spacecraft in orbit.

“Receiving that ping from ACRUX 1 may seem like a modest mission goal, but the truth is far from it,” the team wrote. “That ping would mean ACRUX-1 has not only turned on in space, but has also communicated data back to us at our ground station in Greater Melbourne. In other words, it demonstrates that the satellite system built by our engineers actually works in space.”

A seventh satellite will ride to space on the “Make it Rain” mission, but Spaceflight and Rocket Lab have not revealed its identity or owner.

Quelle: SN

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Update: 27.06.2019

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Live coverage: Rocket Lab launch rescheduled for Friday

Credit: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab’s live video webcast begins approximately 15 minutes prior to launch, and will be available on this page.

Fueling of the 55-foot-tall (17-meter) Electron rocket is due to begin at T-minus 4 hours, when RP-1 kerosene will begin flowing into the two-stage launch vehicle. Super-cold liquid oxygen will begin pumping into the rocket at T-minus 2 hours.

Nine Rutherford engines power the Electron's first stage, delivering more than 40,000 pounds of thrust at full throttle. A single Rutherford engine is on the Electron's second stage, producing approximately 5,000 pounds of thrust.

Safety teams will ensure the airspace around the launch site is clear at T-minus 30 minutes, and Rocket Lab's launch director will poll the Electron team at T-minus 18 minutes to confirm all stations are "go" for liftoff.

An automated countdown sequencer will take control at T-minus 2 minutes to oversee the final pressurization of the rocket's propellant tanks, followed by ignition of the nine first stage engines at T-minus 2 seconds.

The launch readiness review is a customary milestone during the final stages of a launch campaign, in which managers ensure all systems on the rocket, the payloads and ground systems are ready for the countdown.

Last week, Rocket Lab completed a "wet dress rehearsal" on the rocket at the launch site on New Zealand's North Island. The mock countdown included the fueling of the two-stage Electron rocket with kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants.

Rocket Lab’s next launch from New Zealand is set for no earlier than June 27 with a bundle of spacecraft including a commercial Earth-observing microsatellite for BlackSky, two CubeSats for U.S. Special Operations Command, a pair of tiny prototype data relay nodes for Swarm Technologies, a student-built payload from Australia, and a satellite whose identity and owner remain a secret.

The rideshare mission was arranged by Spaceflight, a Seattle-based company that specializes in aggregating small satellites and booking a shared flight with a launch provider.

The seventh launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron booster is scheduled for a two-hour window June 27 opening at 0430 GMT (12:30 a.m. EDT; 4:30 p.m. New Zealand time), the launch company announced Monday. Rocket Lab says it has launch opportunities available through July 10.

Seven satellites will ride the 55-foot-tall (17-meter) Electron rocket into orbit roughly 280 miles (450 kilometers) above Earth. It will be Rocket Lab’s third mission of 2019 as officials aim to ramp up to a cadence of about one launch per month by the end of the year.

The rocket will take off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1, a privately-operated facility on Mahia Peninsula, located on the eastern coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Quelle: SN

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Update: 29.06.2019

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Rocket Lab delays 'Make it Rain' launch until Saturday

Rocket Lab has delayed its "Make it Rain" launch until 4.30pm Saturday at the earliest.

A seven-day launch window opened on Thursday, but the first launch attempt was stood down for further checks of ground equipment. Checks continue today.

The Herald will carry a livestream of the launch.

Wairoa District Council has allocated a viewing area for the public near Nuhaka, accessible via Blucks Pit Road - around 20km from the launchpad.

The "Make it Rain" mission (named for a client in rainsoaked Seattle, with a nod to NZ weather) will carry satellites for US Earth-imaging company Blacksky, the Melbourne School of Engineering-backed Melbourne Space Program (whose students have created an experimental cubesat) and two "Prometheus" birds for US military's Special Operations Command (Socom).

Socom - best known for the "Blackhawk Down" incident in Somalia - coordinates between Special Operations units in different branches of the US military.

Rocket Lab has not been keen to talk about the Socom satellites, which have been left off promotional material on its website.

But Rocket Lab boss Peter Beck says they are part of a research rather than operational mission.

Rocket Lab has already launched satellites for US defence agency Darpa and the US Air Force this year.

Quelle: NZ Herald

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Rocket Lab Launches 7 Small Satellites to Orbit

A Rocket Lab Electron booster rises off the pad in New Zealand on June 29, 2019, with seven small satellites aboard.

Sevens were wild for Rocket Lab early this morning (June 29).

The spaceflight startup launched seven small satellites to low-Earth orbit on the company's seventh flight, a mission dubbed "Make It Rain."

Rocket Lab's two-stage Electron booster rose into the heavens from the company's New Zealand launch site today at 12:30 a.m. EDT (0430 GMT; 4:30 p.m. local New Zealand time). All seven craft were safely deployed by about 56 minutes after liftoff, company representatives said.

Those payloads include two craft called Prometheus, which will be operated by the United States Special Operations Command, and the cubesat ACRUX-1. This latter satellite was lofted for the Melbourne Space Program, an educational organization that gives Australian students hands-on experience with space projects.

"The largest spacecraft on the mission is BlackSky Global-3, a microsatellite developed, designed and manufactured by BlackSky, a leading provider of geospatial intelligence, satellite imaging, and global monitoring services," Rocket Lab representatives wrote in the "Make It Rain" press kit, which you can find here.

Rocket Lab aims to greatly increase access to space using Electron, a two-stage booster that's 57 feet tall and 4 feet wide (17 by 1.2 meters). The rocket is capable of lofting a maximum of about 500 lbs. (225 kilograms) on each roughly $5 million liftoff.

Electron has now flown a total of seven times, including test flights, and three times in 2019. Rocket Lab plans to ramp up the spaceflight action soon; company CEO Peter Beck has said he'd like to get a dozen Electron missions in this year.

Quelle: SC

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Rocket Lab launches satellites for Spaceflight

A view of the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand, the launch site for Rocket Lab's Electron rocket, seen by an Electron as is ascended into space on a June 29 launch of seven smallsats. Credit: Rocket Lab

WASHINGTON — A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched an Earth imaging satellite and several smaller satellites on a mission for rideshare services company Spaceflight June 29.

The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula at 12:30 a.m. Eastern, with the rocket’s upper stage deploying the satellites into low Earth orbit 53 minutes later. The launch was delayed two days by problems with ground tracking equipment that Peter Beck, the company’s founder and chief executive, said will soon be phased out in favor of an autonomous flight termination system.

Rocket Lab carried out the launch for Spaceflight, the Seattle-based company that offers rideshare services on a variety of vehicles. The launch is the first of as many as five Electron missions this year for Spaceflight, carrying a mix of small satellites.

The largest satellite on this mission is Global-3 for Earth imaging company BlackSky. The satellite, weighing about 60 kilograms, will be the company’s first to go into a medium-inclination orbit, providing faster revisit times over selected areas of the Earth.

“As we continue our constellation expansion, it will be critical to leverage the frequent launch cadence Spaceflight offers through Rocket Lab and others, and we’re excited to be on this inaugural mission,” Brian O’Toole, chief executive of BlackSky, said in the statement.

Six other satellites are also on the rocket, bring the total payload mass to the mission to approximately 80 kilograms. Two of the satellites are Prometheus cubesats for U.S. Special Operations Command, believed to be used for tactical communications. Two others are SpaceBEE smallsats for Swarm, a company developing a constellation of such satellites for Internet of Things services. The fifth satellite is ACRUX-1, an Australian student-built cubesat, and the sixth is for an undisclosed customer.

Launching on Electron offers a new approach for Spaceflight, which has traditionally provided launches for smallsats as secondary payloads on larger launch vehicles. The company did purchase a dedicated Falcon 9 mission, called SSO-A, that launched 64 satellites last December.

Electron offers the company the ability to provide dedicated launches, with control over orbit and schedule, but for smaller numbers of satellites at a time. “Having the Electron in our arsenal of small launch vehicles provides our customers with a low-cost, flexible option to get on orbit,” Curt Blake, chief executive of Spaceflight, said in a pre-launch statement.

The mission was the third of 2019 for Spaceflight, after a mission in February where it launched SpaceIL’s Beresheet launch as a secondary payload on a Falcon 9 and one in March that launched 21 satellites as secondary payloads on an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Speaking at the Space Enterprise Summit here June 26, Blake said the company planned to perform as many as 19 launches in 2019.

“What we try to do is buy up the excess capacity on all these different launch vehicles to drive efficiencies,” he said at the summit. “Launch is a scarce resource, and it’s really important that we use all the performance of those launch vehicles to get as much into orbit as we can, because that drives launch costs lower.”

The launch was the third this year for Rocket Lab’s Electron small launch vehicle. The Electron launched DARPA’s Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration (R3D2) satellite in March, and three technology demonstration satellites for the U.S. Air Force in May.

Lars Hoffman, senior vice president of global launch services at Rocket Lab, said during a June 6 panel discussion at the National Space Society’s International Space Development Conference that the company plans to move towards monthly launches of Electron after this mission.

“The value that we bring to the market is being able to launch on a monthly cadence,” he said, providing assurances to companies, and their investors, that their payloads can get into orbit on schedule. “There’s a lot of pent-up demand.”